Researchers Develop Cell Spray That Could Mend Hearts
Researchers at the British Heart Foundation have developed a technique that could replace the scarred tissues in heart with working heart cells. Damaged heart tissues cannot beat and hence leave the heart struggling to pump blood in energy-demanding situations, such as running.
Once the heart tissues are dead, they are not redeemable. Hence, the Researchers have developed patches which are thin sheets of  heart cells which can be layered onto the scarred tissue, inside the heart, restoring the blood flow through that tissue.
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First a syringe is filled with heart cells and then passed through a needle with 10,000 volts of electric field, which is a prerequisite to control the cells. This forms a fine jet which eventually disintegrates into countless droplets which form a blanket around the scarred tissue. The heart cells can be gathered from the patient himself or grown from the patient's stem cell in future. This method can also prove successful for various other cell types which can be added into this cell suspension to create three dimensional cardiac tissues that are fully functional.
The need for such a technique is critical, as this can help patch-up damaged pieces of heart. Researchers are working towards making this technology accessible so that heart patients don't have to wait long-term for a donor heart.
Source: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18899486" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">'Spray-patch' could mend hearts - BBC News</a> Image Credit: #-Link-Snipped-#
Once the heart tissues are dead, they are not redeemable. Hence, the Researchers have developed patches which are thin sheets of  heart cells which can be layered onto the scarred tissue, inside the heart, restoring the blood flow through that tissue.
#-Link-Snipped-#
First a syringe is filled with heart cells and then passed through a needle with 10,000 volts of electric field, which is a prerequisite to control the cells. This forms a fine jet which eventually disintegrates into countless droplets which form a blanket around the scarred tissue. The heart cells can be gathered from the patient himself or grown from the patient's stem cell in future. This method can also prove successful for various other cell types which can be added into this cell suspension to create three dimensional cardiac tissues that are fully functional.
The need for such a technique is critical, as this can help patch-up damaged pieces of heart. Researchers are working towards making this technology accessible so that heart patients don't have to wait long-term for a donor heart.
Source: <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18899486" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">'Spray-patch' could mend hearts - BBC News</a> Image Credit: #-Link-Snipped-#
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